Searching For Freedom
by BrittanaBoobs
Summary: Brittiago. Brittany is escaping from something and ends up at Quinn and Santiago's doorstep. The two take care of her and help her through her struggles. Rated M for some violence, bad language and maybe some smut later on...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N I have been writing a lot of stories and decided to upload this one. **

**I hope you enjoy this. Read and Review.**

**warning: the story will contain some violence and bad language**

Chapter 1

_Britt's pov_

I look around me at the numbers on the doors of the apartments. _Number 428, where are you?_

I walk further into the hallway and let out a deep sigh, thank god I found it. I step towards the door and knock softly on it before I can change my mind. I hear some rustling and two voices talking before the door slowly opens.

A blonde head pops out and a confused look flashes over their eyes before a small smile breaks out when they notice who I am.

"Brittany?" the girl asks and I slowly nod my head. I see the smile leave her face again as she takes in my appearance.

"What are you doing here? Oh my god, what happened to your face?" she asks in concern before noticing the little blonde girl standing next to me.

"I… uh…" I stutter out and a tear falls down my face, "Quinn, I n-need help."

Quinn stands there looking a little in shock at me and my little girl for a few seconds before she opens her door wide and lets me inside.

I drop my bags and she pulls me into a tight hug, I let myself fall into her arms and hold her tightly. More tears start to fall but I try to stop them, I don't wanna startle and scare my daughter even more than I already have these past few days.

"Quinn? Who is there?" a deep voice yells from what I guess must be the living room. Quinn steps back a little but keeps her arms around my body and replies back.

"We got some visitors, San." She says and looks at me. She wipes away a few of my tears before looking down at the little blonde that is hugging my leg very tightly.

"I'm not the best around kids but if you need a place to stay, you are welcome here. Let's go into the living room and so you can just… I don't know… maybe we can just talk." She says a little shocked still and I softly nod at her.

I pick up my daughter after Quinn lets me go and leave my bags in the little hallway. We walk into the living room and I see a tan guy sitting on the couch drinking a beer. I look down to hide part of my face as I slowly walk to sit on the other couch with my daughter.

The guy looks up and sends me a small smile and I see it grow a little when he sees the little blonde girl in my lap. He looks up at Quinn and it seems like they have a silent conversation before he looks back in my direction again.

"Do you two want something to drink?" he asks and slides a little forward on the couch. I slowly nod my head before I look down at my daughter.

"Sweetie, do you want a drink?" I ask her very softly and she hesitantly nods her head. I look up at the guy and see him smiling warmly at me before looking at Quinn who is already making her way to their kitchen.

"I will get the drinks." She says and we hear her open up some cupboards.

The guy looks back at me and my little girl before he slowly stands up and kneels down in front of me, the movement causes my daughter to look up at him. She gives him a scared look and curls more into me.

"Hi, there. Wow, can I just say that you look like a very pretty princess?" the guy says in a soft voice and I see my little girl smile a little and trying to hide her blush by pressing her face against my chest.

I look at the guy trying to make conversation with my 3yr old and I smile softly at him. He smiles back at me before focusing back on my daughter.

"My name is Santiago, can you tell me yours?" he asks as Quinn puts two glasses of hot chocolate on the coffee table before sitting down on the couch Santiago, his name apparently, sat a few minutes before.

After a few seconds of no response we softly hear a her soft shy voice mumble something. Santiago ducks his head a little to get a better look at her.

"Grace." She softly says again.

"Grace? That's a beautiful name. Do you like doggies?" he asks her and she nods her head before looking up at Santiago with a smile. Even though it's a small smile, it's the first real smile I have seen from her in a few days.

"You do? Well… I have two doggies but see that lady over there?" he says and points over to Quinn who sends a small smile at all of us as Grace looks over at her. Grace nods and looks back at Santiago.

"She doesn't allow me to have them here in the living room when we eat, so I had to put them in my bedroom. Would you like to meet them?" he asks and I see Grace making a face that clearly indicates that she is thinking her options over.

A smile forms on her face before she looks at me with a questioning look. I softly nod my head to her, saying that it's okay with me. Her smile grows and she hesitantly takes Santiago's hand when he holds it out to her.

They walk together to one of the doors connecting to the living room and he opens it. Immediately two dogs run out of the room and Grace moves a little closer to Santiago, he gets the hint and picks her up before sitting down on the ground with Grace in his lap.

I look a little shocked at the scene in front of me because never in the 3yrs of her short life has she ever allowed anyone to do that, not even other friends and family members. She is a very shy girl and she would only allow me to hold her. I smile and wipe a silent tear that rolled down my face away.

Santiago tells the two dogs to sit and Grace claps when they do it.

"Good boys." Santiago exclaims and tells them to lay down. They do as they are told and I see the smile on my daughter's face grow.

Just like me she loves animals, she is really fascinated with dogs though instead of cats like I am. She loves when dogs can do tricks and when they listen immediately.

"Now this is Disel," he says and points to the black Labrador, he then points at the black and white Border Collie, "and that's Thunder."

"They are very cute and fluffy but very playful so I will make sure they are nice when they play with you." he adds and moves closer towards the dogs with Grace still on his lap.

"I, I like doggies." Grace says as she slowly and shakily sticks her hand out towards Thunder's face. The dog moves his head up and sniffles her hand before licking it, making my girl let out a giggle.

I keep watching my daughter interact with two dogs and a guy, who is practically still a stranger to the both of us and I can't help but smile as I see how relaxed my little girl looks. This is soo surreal to me, Grace has never looked so relaxed and happy with somebody else but me.

A hand on my knee pulls me out of my thoughts and I turn my head towards Quinn, who moved to sit next to me. She smiles softly at me and keeps her hand on my knee. I slowly put my hand on hers and squeeze her hand.

"You don't have to say anything right now, you can explain everything tomorrow," Quinn starts off but I interrupt her and shake my head.

"I need to explain, Q. I just don't know how. I need to apologize first for just coming over unannounced," I say and this time its me who gets interrupted.

"Britt, please don't apologize. Sorry to say this but your face and even just you look like a mess. You obviously needed to leave whatever that was going on and I'm glad that you came here. I will help you in any way I can."

Quinn smiles softly at me and I just smile gratefully back at her. This means so much to me, just hearing these words. I know I need to explain why I'm here but I can't right now. I let out a long yawn and only now I realize how truly exhausted I am.

"Thank you, Quinn. I will explain everything tomorrow, I just… I can't right now. These last few days have been really hard on me, on both of us." I say as I look towards my little girl, who is now snuggled into Santiago's chest, letting her sleep catch up on her too.

"That's okay, sweetie. You look exhausted. Oh… I don't know about our sleeping arrangements though. I mean we have a guest bedroom but it's kinda full with stuff." She says and I see her start to think of a solution.

"I can just sleep on the couch, I mean… Grace and I did that a lot so..." I tell her and I jump a little when I suddenly hear Santiago's voice next to me. I didn't even notice him walking over towards us.

"Nonsense, you two aren't sleeping on the couch." He says and I look up to see him cradling my sleeping daughter and swaying a little to keep her asleep.

"You two can sleep in my room, I will sleep on the couch. Tomorrow I will make sure that the guest room is cleaned out so you two can stay in there for as long as you need." He continues and I just shake my head at the things he is saying.

"I, I can't do that." I start but he interrupts me.

"You can and you are. I'm not gonna let you two sleep on the couch. You look exhausted and a couch wont get you the rest you can get in a real bed." he states and I can tell by his face that he is not taking 'no' for an answer.

I turn my head towards Quinn and see her shake her head before she opens her mouth.

"Don't even try, Britt." She simply says and I let out a small sigh.

"Thank you, Santiago." I say with a very grateful smile at him and he smiles back at me.

"No problem. Do you need help with this little cutie?" he asks as he looks down with a smile at my daughter who is still in his arms and it looks like she is holding him tightly.

"If you don't mind? Just put her in bed, I can change her." I answer while both Quinn and I stand up.

Santiago walks towards his bedroom while Quinn and I go grab my bags from the hallway.

"Thank you for letting us stay here." I tell her again as we walk through the living room towards Santiago's bedroom.

Quinn just shakes her head at me, she knows I will probably be saying this a lot more often. We walk into the bedroom and we put the bags in the corner of the room. I look towards the bed to see Santiago struggle with my little girl.

"Sweetie. Hey, little princess?" I hear him softly talk to my daughter.

Quinn and I just stand in the doorway watching them interact with each other.

"Mmm, yea?" Grace sleepily mumbles out and Santiago chuckles quietly.

"You need to let me go so you can sleep in my nice big bed with your mommy." He whispers and my daughter relaxes her arms enough for Santiago to pull them away from around his neck. She immediately curls into the blankets even though she is still laying on top of them.

He leans down and kisses her head, "Sweet dreams, princess."

He stands up and his eyes widen while a little blush makes his way onto his face when he spots us standing there. He scratches his neck awkwardly before quickly walking out of the bedroom.

Quinn and I share a look before we start to giggle softly. I say another thanks to her and we hug goodnight. I grab my bag and quickly change in the joined bathroom that Quinn told me about before she also left the room.

When I'm done, I walk into the bedroom and quickly and carefully change my daughter into a Scooby Doo onesie. I lay her under the blankets and crawl into the bed myself.

I feel my daughter snuggle into me the second I lay down and wrap her up in my arms. I kiss her head and tell her 'goodnight.' I let a sigh leave my mouth as I close my eyes and relax into the soft mattress.

It feels like I'm laying on a cloud, I relax even more and start to drift off to dreamland. I know that this is gonna be one of the first nights I will actually get some rest.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I wanted to upload this earlier but had computer troubles.**

**If you want something in the story, let me know.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter. R&R**

Chapter 2

_Britt's pov_

The first thing I noticed when I woke up a few minutes ago is that I'm laying on a very soft mattress instead of a hard couch or floor. I snuggle into the soft blankets and breathe in deeply. I really feel like I'm on a cloud.

I feel around me and sit up quickly when I notice that my little girl isn't laying next to me anymore. I rub my eyes and slowly stand up. I look around the strange room and slowly remember where I am.

I smile as I think back to last night. The way Santiago was with my little girl and how helpful my best friend was… I need to thank them in some way.

I hear giggling coming from somewhere in the living room and I smile at the sound. _Oh, how I missed my little girl's giggles…_ I shake my head and walk out of the room and towards the couch, I stop in my tracks when I see the scene in front of me.

Gracie and Santiago are making breakfast together, my daughter is sitting with her back to me on the counter helping him. I hear Santiago make sound effects as he pours the pancake batter, well I presume it is pancake batter, into a pan.

Grace laughs at him and I just stand here quietly watching them act crazy together.

"Would you like a chocolate chip, Miss?"Santiago asks in a silly English accent and Grace laughs at him and nods her head.

"Yes, please… Sir." She softly giggles out and tries to do a salute which makes Santiago chuckle at her.

"Here you go, Milady." He says again in the same accent and hands her a few chocolate chips.

She eats them and I see Santiago grab the bowl with the batter , he pours a lot of the chocolate chips in it and stirs the batter again while making weird, funny sounds.

I slowly walk closer to them in hopes to not make myself known. I'm almost at the bar/island thingy when I hear San softly ask my little girl, "Do you smell that?"

Gracie shakes her head and moves her head a little higher, she takes a big sniff of the air and shakes her head again at Santiago. It takes everything in me to not laugh or giggle.

"What you smell?" she asks softly.

"I smell.. I smell… oh no! I think I smell a monster." He says as my little girl's eyes widen. I almost snort and get offended but keep quiet.

"Don't turn around, I think _it_ is behind us." He continues and chuckles a little when he sees Grace's expression. He walks over to her and wraps his arms around her after he turns the stove off.

"Don't worry, princess. I will protect you." He tells her as he looks at me and sends me a wink.

_Good lord, that wink…_

I shake my head and take this as my cue to move closer to them. I see Grace hold tightly onto his neck as I make a few noises.

"Rawrrr…. I smell… I smell a little girl." I say with a weird accent and almost start to laugh at the face Santiago is making. It's a mix between slight shock and wanting to keep his laughter inside, it looks hilarious so I look away and at my daughter.

"I'm very hungry so you better come out of hiding." I start off in the weird voice but quickly change back into my normal voice and chuckle a little when Grace turns her head to me, eyes wide and mouth hung open in shock. It quickly turns into a big grin.

"Mommy!" she squeals out with a smile before she gets a serious look on her face which makes both Santiago and me look at her.

"No eating Gracie!" she says and pouts a little.

We both start to laugh at my adorable little girl and a smile breaks out on her face. I move closer to them and Santiago hands her over to me before turning back to the food.

"Good morning baby girl."I tell her and kiss her head as she snuggles into me.

"Morning mommy. We makes… food." Grace says after a few seconds of searching for the word.

"I can see that, it smells amazing." I tell her with a smile.

"Sit down, ladies. The pancakes are almost done." Santiago says and starts to make three plates of pancakes.

I sit down with Grace on my lap and we just cuddle in silence. A few minutes later two plates are placed in front of us on the bar.

On one plate there are three pancakes with on the top one a smiley face made out of whipped cream and a cherry was used as the nose. On the other plate is one chocolate chip pancake with a crown also made out of whipped cream and there are a few chocolate chips and cherries on it as the 'jewelry' on the crown.

Grace claps excitedly and I smile big. I look up as Santiago sits on the left side of us. I chuckle when I see at least 6 pancakes on his plate covered in chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

"What?" he asks as he looks up at us, "Why are you two giggling?"

"Would you like some pancakes with your chocolate sauce and whipped cream?"I chuckle out at him and laugh when he starts to chuckle too.

"Yea… I kinda like chocolate." he says with a grin and takes a big bite out of his pancakes.

"I can tell."I giggle out softly before I start eating and cutting up little bites for my little girl to eat.

We make small talk while we eat, mostly just talking about food and the dogs who are laying down on two separate pillows next to the coffee table. Grace finishes eating first and asks if she can watch some TV so I set her down and smile when she runs towards the couch.

When San, I can call him that now, stands up a few minutes later and starts to do the dishes, I realize that my best friend isn't here. I guess San was just too distracting but I keep wondering where my best friend is.

"Hey San?" I ask and he hums in response so I continue, "Where is Quinn?"

"Oh, she had a meeting at 9.30am with a client to buy one of the houses that has been up for sale for 3yrs now. She said she would be back around 1pm… which is in about an hour." he tells me and dries his hands on the towel.

"Okay. So I have another question, why did you let me sleep in? I mean I could've helped make breakfast." I say to him as he starts to put the plates and glasses in the cupboards.

He reaches up to put the glasses in the cupboard that's above the bar I'm sitting at and I almost lose my breath at the sight I'm seeing. His sweats are low on his hips while his shirt is riding up a little with the way he is reaching up and I can see some very nice abs and…

_OMG! Holy… _He has that sexy hip thing going on, you know that V thingy. Sooo hot.

A chuckle snaps me out of my stare and thoughts. I look up at him and see him smirk at me while my face slowly turns redder and grows hotter. I quickly look away.

"As I was saying before you started a staring contest with my abs…" he says through a chuckle and I look up at him before he continues again with a smile, "You looked absolutely exhausted last night so you deserved those extra few hours."

"Thank you, San. I did really need them." I say and smile gratefully at him. He just nods in return.

"So… we still have about 50min till Quinn gets here and she probably wants to know how long you are gonna stay and stuff… Do you want to take a shower? I can watch Grace, she asked me, well more like demanded me to watch Looney Tunes with her earlier."

I just giggle at him and he smiles at me. _There are the dimples again…._

"That's my Gracie for you. I would like to take a shower, I don't have shampoo though. I ran out a few days ago…" I say with a frown and look down.

Santiago puts his hand on mine and squeezes it, making me look at him.

"Just borrow some of Quinn's, she won't mind it. Take as long as you need." He says and stands up straight again.

"Thanks, San."I say and slowly get up. I walk towards his room to grab some clothes and walk towards the room San is pointing at, his way of telling me where the bathroom is since he has a cookie in his mouth.

I just chuckle at him and enter the bathroom. He just ate like 8 pancakes and he is already eating again….

I get undressed and turn the shower on. I put my clothes on a chair in the bathroom and see a towel laying next to it on a small table. I put it on top of my clothes and slowly step into the shower.

I close my eyes as I step under the showerhead, warm water falls on my body and I can't help but let out a big, happy sigh. How I missed this… the last time I showered was at some gross motel… and that was days ago…

I shake my head to get rid of the disgusting memory and just relax… I wash my hair and I think I won't come out of it for a while….

_San's pov_

"Santi… Santigo…. Nooooo. San?" a soft voice but with a little frustration in it calls out and I chuckle at the trouble the little blonde has with my name.

"Yes, sweetie?" I say as I grab a glass of milk for her and walk towards the living room where she is sitting on the couch.

"Watch TV with me?" she asks me softly again and I swear I just about melt right here on the spot at the look she is giving me. Big puppy eyes and a pout formed on her face.

"Of course, Sweets. I'm guessing Looney Tunes?" I ask her and chuckle when a big smile forms on her face.

I shake my head and sit down on the couch next to her and put the Cartoon channel on. We stay seated like this with a little distance between us for a few minutes before she shyly looks up to me… once again with big puppy eyes but also with something else…

"Cuddle?" I ask her knowingly that that is what she wanted.

She nods her head quickly and crawls carefully into my lap. I decide to get more comfortable and turn to lay down on the couch. Grace lays down on top of me and snuggles into me. I smile and wrap my arms around her before turning my head to check if my dogs are behaving themselves.

They are both laying on their special 'pet pillows' chewing on the bones I gave them earlier this morning. I actually have no idea what those pillows are really called but anyways… they are quiet and that's all that matters right now.

I look back at Grace but she looks sternly up at me and puts her hands on my cheeks and turns my head towards the TV.

"Watch." She orders me and I chuckle at her but do as I'm told.

About 30min later I notice that Grace has fallen asleep. I can´t help but smile at the little girl snuggled even closer into my chest. She is softly snoring and little puffs of air keep hitting my neck since she decided to nuzzle her head there a few minutes ago.

Though she is a little more comfortable with me now than she was last night, she is still very… I don't know… I guess guarded. She is a very shy girl and it seems like she is scared to ask me for anything.

I know it's not the shyness that makes it difficult for her to ask for things… I can see it in her eyes that she is scared of something.. someone maybe… Brittany has the exact same look in her eyes…

When Brittany entered our living room last night holding Grace closely to her chest, my heart just broke at the sight of them. They were both so scared and it looked like both of them didn't have any sleep for days.

The 'almost healed but still there' bruise on Brittany´s face worries me too. If I find out who hurt them, I will beat them up. Who would hurt such a sweet and beautiful woman? Who would even hit a woman at all?! Or scare this little girl so much that she is almost afraid of everything?

I heard and felt how this sweet little girl was whimpering a little last night when she fell asleep against my chest. It's the worst sound ever and I hope to never hear it again.

I haven't known either of them for long but I already care so much about them. It's kinda scary to me. I don't grow this attached to one person this quickly let alone two. I don't even really know them but I do know that I will do everything in my power to protect them.

"Mommy?" a soft but very shaky voice pulls me from my thoughts and I look down at the little girl on my chest. Her eyebrows are scrunched together and a scared look is on her face even though her eyes are still closed. Her hands are clenched shut in fists, gripping tightly at my shirt.

"Shhh, it's okay. It's just me, Santiago. Go back to sleep Sweets."I kiss her head and rub her back to comfort her. Grace curls more into me and eventually relaxes enough to slowly fall back asleep.

I let out a big sigh and continue to rub the girl's back. My eyes start to get heavy and I struggle to keep them open. I didn't get much sleep last night on this couch and when I couldn't fall back asleep around 7am, I decided to start cleaning out the guest room for them.

The only thing we need to do is shop for some more blankets, pillows and clothes for the both of them. They don't have much clothes seeing as they only have two small sports bags with them…

I make a mental note to take them to the mall later to buy some stuff before finally closing my eyes and slowly falling asleep.

_Britt's pov_

I took a long and refreshing shower, I really needed it. I feel much better now and if I could, I would've been in the shower all day…

I get dressed into a pair of baggy grey sweats and a red shirt. I look into the mirror and examine the yellow-ish bruise on my jaw and around my eye. I squeeze my eyes shut and shudder when the memory of how I got it flashes through my mind.

I shake my head quickly to get rid of it, I don't wanna get a panic attack with them around. I take a few shaky breaths before opening my eyes again. I grab a brush and try to will my hand to stop shaking so I can brush my hair.

A few minutes later I'm finally finished and grab the dirty clothes I've been using as my pj's and put them in the hamper. When I got out of the shower a couple minutes ago I saw a note laying on the counter saying I could put my dirty clothes in there.

I walk out of the bathroom and through Quinn's bedroom before entering the living room again. I stop next to the bar that connects the open kitchen and living room with each other and smile at the sight before me.

I shake my head with a smile as I remember the sight I saw earlier today. I thought that was cute and sweet already but this… this is just simply adorable.

On the couch is my little girl curled into Santiago, both are sound asleep. I can't believe that I'm actually seeing this… This would never happen back… _there…_

The only person Grace would cuddle with was me. Something about Santiago seems to make her calm, I don't know what it is but he also has that effect on me. When you're around him you just instantly relax.

I softly shake my head with a smile and take my phone out of my pocket to snap a quick picture of the two before walking closer and draping a blanket over them. I sit down on the armrest where San's feet are and just look at the two sleeping on the couch.

My staring gets interrupted by the sound of someone struggling to unlock the door. A chill travels through my body and I quickly stand up and inch backwards towards the window. I wrap my arms around my body and shake my head as my breathing starts to speed up.

I remember this noise, this can't be happening. My breathing speeds up even more and I start to panic. I keep shaking my head.

_This is not happening…_

I start getting flashbacks and tears start to roll down my cheeks as I slide down the wall and sit underneath the windowsill curling into my body.

_He isn't here, he can't be here… He couldn't have found us…_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N1** **It took a little longer but here it is, chapter 3!**

**A big thanks to all the follows, favs and reviews :)**

**Hope you enjoy this one**

Chapter 3

_Pov Quinn_

_Ugh this damn door!_ I need to tell San to fix it, this door has been jamming several times for months now and because of that the lock won't work either.

I sigh in frustration before finally turning the lock and I press hard against the door to open it. I smile and sigh in relief when the door opens. I walk inside and put my bag on the little desk next to the door in the hallway.

I bend down to pull my shoes off when I hear somebody softly sobbing. It sounds like they are trying to hide it but they are breathing way too fast to not notice it.

My eyes widen when I hear whimpering so I quickly kick my shoes off and walk quickly into the living room. I quickly scan the area, the dogs are sleeping on their pillows while Santiago and Grace are sleeping on the couch.

I would smile if it wasn't for the heartbreaking sight that met my eyes next. There under the windowsill is my best friend curled up into herself, knees pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them and her head pressed into her arms.

I can see her body trembling with the shaky and shallow breaths she is taking. I slowly walk closer, not wanting to startle her, and it sounds like she is talking to herself or more like to… _somebody._

"_Don't hurt me. Please. I'm sorry."_ I hear being said over and over like a mantra. I try to keep my own emotions at bay, she looks so broken. Why is she saying sorry, better yet to whom is she saying sorry?

I slowly move closer and kneel down in front of her while softly whispering to her.

"Britt? It's just me, Quinn."

Her body tenses when she hears my voice but slowly relaxes a little when she realizes it's me. She slowly lifts her head and my heart breaks even more. Her eyes are red and puffy, tear tracks are on her cheeks with fresh tears making new ones over them.

Her lower lip is trembling and she chokes out a broken sob. I quickly wrap my arms around her body and she falls into me. She grips me so tightly, it's like she is afraid I will let go of her.

"Deep, slow breaths B. Come on you can do it." I tell her as I hold her tightly. Her breathing is still very erratic and I can feel her heart beat frantically in her chest.

I lean back a little and hold her head so she's facing me. Her eyes are tightly squeezed shut and she is turning redder by the second.

"B, look at me. Open your eyes." I urge her and she opens her eyes. Our eyes lock on each other and I can see the terrified look in them.

"Breathe with me, sweetie. Deep in through your nose like this." I say and breathe like I just told her. She follows my lead though it's a very shaky inhale, "Long out through your mouth."

I keep our eyes connected and don't allow her to turn her head away or to curl into herself. I keep repeating the words and breathe with her till she finally calms down.

Her breathing is finally starting to go to normal again and I pull her tightly into me. I rub her back and turn my head to kiss her head before softly whispering into her ear, "You're okay. You're safe."

We stay like this for a few minutes before I pull her with me and walk her to the bar. I help her sit on a barstool since she is still very shaky and grab her a glass of water. She whispers a soft '_Thanks_' before taking a big gulp of water.

I sit down next to her and just rub her back. I have a lot of questions about what just happened but I don't ask them. I have known Britt for years and I know that when she is ready she will start to talk, so I don't push her. I just wait.

_Britt's pov_

I just sit at the bar trying to settle my nerves and try to sort out my emotions and thoughts. I've had these attacks so often but they still freak me out. Thank god it was just Quinn coming home and I don't know what would've happened if she didn't help me through the attack.

I didn't want anyone to see it cuz that just leads to questions I can't answer… Thank god Gracie didn't see this. _Wait! Shit, where is she?_

I look frantically around me and relax when I see her still sleeping silently on an equally asleep Santiago. I'm kinda glad they both didn't see this happening. Grace for obvious reasons, she saw it twice before and yea…

Quinn squeezing my waist shakes me from my thoughts and stare, I turn back towards her and she sends me a small smile.

"Don't worry, San sleeps through everything. You couldn't wake him up even if you had sirens blasting loudly into his ears." Quinn chuckles out and I smile a little at her but my smile quickly turns into a small frown.

"I, I'm sorry… for what just happened..." I start off slowly and see Quinn shake her head at me, I continue to speak before she gets the chance to interrupt me, "I… You probably want to know what that was… and why we're here…"

"I do B, I'm not gonna lie about that but you don't have to tell me anything until you're ready to." She tells me with a soft voice.

I wanna tell her, I really do but for some reason I just can't. It hurts too much. _Thinking_ about it hurts too much… I can't even try to explain the mess I'm in… I don't even understand it.

"B?" her soft voice pulls me from my thoughts again and I slowly look up at her. I open and close my mouth a few times but no words come out.

"It's okay Britt. When you're ready, you know that we will both be right here for you." she tells me and sends me a reassuring look.

"Okay, thank you…"I mumble softly and look down at my hands.

Why can't I just tell her? I know I need to talk about it but I just can't… but she said they would wait till I was ready… What if I'm never ready though? What if I don't ever get the courage to tell them?

I quickly shake my head to get rid of all the questions building up in my head but most of all to not think about the reason why I came here, the reason why I'm so scared that I had to leave… Not for only my own safety but especially for Grace's safety.

We both continue to sit silently at the bar, we don't say much and I kinda avoid making eye contact with Quinn. I don't know why but I just can't look at her… Not right now…

_San's pov_

I wake up to blonde hair all over my face and they are even in my mouth. I make a face and pretend to spit/blow the hairs out of my mouth.

"Yucky. Hair." I mumble and hear a soft giggle before the person who is the owner of these lovely blonde hairs, starts to shake their head thus making their hair move all over my face.

I keep my mouth and eyes tightly closed while moving my hands to the blonde's sides and start to tickle her. The loud laugh that bubbles out of the girl's mouth could make anybody's day brighter. I can't help the big smile that spreads across my face.

"SANTI!" she squeals out loudly as she tries to slap my hands away but I just keep tickling her sides.

"You woke the tickle monster." I tell her in a weird voice and she giggles even more at me while trying to move away from my grip to escape my wiggling fingers.

"I'm s-sowwy." she laughs out while her face turns a little redder.

"St-sto-o-op." she begs me but I don't stop.

"Say that the Tickle Monster is the best and I will stop." I say to her through my own chuckles.

"T-tickle Monnnn-ster is-s b-best." She laughs out and I stop tickling her. She giggles softly while she lays down back on top of me. She nuzzles her head into my neck while she calms down her breathing. I rub her back and just look down at her on my chest.

_Britt's pov_

When I heard Gracie's squeal, I immediately turned my head to look at them. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever imagined to see such joy on her face. I couldn't help but smile and laugh along at the two silly goofs on the couch.

I haven't heard my girl laugh this hard since…well actually _ever_. She is soo comfortable around Santiago already, it warms my heart but it also scares me a little.

I quickly shake my head before the 'what if' questions can fill my mind again. I stand up and slowly walk over to them. Santiago notices me first and smiles at me after I sit down on the floor in front of the couch.

My smile widens when I see Grace smile softly at me with her head still in San's neck.

"Hey baby girl. Did you have a good nap?" I ask her softly.

Grace smiles big and nods her head, "Santi's soft and warm."

Santiago chuckles at her while shaking his head before looking at me. A frown starts to form on his face as his eyes trace all over my face. I can't deal with the concerned and worried look he is giving me so I quickly look down at my hands.

I hear movements and look up to see Santiago sitting up and putting Grace on the floor. Grace immediately runs towards the dogs and I smile big at her. A hand is placed on my shoulder and I look up at Santiago who holds his other hand out for me.

I grab it and he pulls me up, he keeps pulling till I fall on the couch next to him which makes me giggle. He turns and squeezes my hand and I turn to face him, our hands still connected.

"Are you okay? I can tell that you've been crying." He says in one of the softest and caring voices I have ever heard.

"I-I'm fine. Just… just had a bad moment…" I lie and look anywhere but into his eyes that are so sincere and filled with worry. He squeezes my hand again and I look back at him.

"You can talk to me if you need or want to. I'm not gonna push you but I know from personal experience that talking to someone will help." He tells me and just looks at me with a small smile.

"Thank you… It's just I… I…" I try to talk but I can't. It's like every time I try to talk about it my body just shuts down.

I can't figure my thoughts out, I can't put them into words and when I open my mouth nothing comes out. I don't know why I can't talk about this… maybe it's too much for me to handle. I wish I could talk about it…

I sigh frustratingly after another failed attempt to speak to Santiago about this. He squeezes my hand and looks at me with another sincere look.

"It's okay Britt. The words will come eventually, it's just the start that's hard. But once you figure that out, the rest will come to you really easily and it kinda just flow out of you." he sends me a small smile and I know he understands me a little.

I wonder what happened for him to connect with this feeling of not being able to talk about these difficult subjects….

"San! We need food, you ate everything!" Quinn's yelling pulls me away from my thoughts and both San and I look up at her. I giggle a little as I look back at San who is wearing a playful hurt look on his face, he even put a hand on his heart.

"I did not eat everything!" he yells back in a higher offended tone which makes Grace and I giggle at him.

"Really? How come the pantries, cupboards _and_ the fridge are _all _almost empty? Cuz I sure as he… Huckleberry Finn didn't eat it all of it." Quinn says and puts her hands on her hips while staring San down.

I shake my head with a smile at the two of them and giggle at the fact that Q changed the swearword into a character from a book. Grace walks over to me and crawls onto my lap to watch the two of them 'argue' with each other.

"Neither did I! You know, you eat a lot too for just being a skinny girl! And don't blame me for all this cuz it was your turn two days ago to buy groceries so." He ends his little rant and sticks his tongue out at Quinn.

Grace laughs loudly as San turns to her and makes a funny face.

"_Quinn's a little coocoo."_ He whispers to her rolling his eyes while making a face and we both burst out in giggles.

"I heard that _Insane_-tiago. And it was mine last week…oh." Quinn trails off she reads a paper that's hanging up on the fridge door.

San just laughs a little deviously at Quinn and it scares my little girl a little. San whispers a soft '_sorry_' to her before turning back to Quinn.

"I win! But seriously, let's just go to the store together. The four of us, that way you two can choose some things you like and so we know what to buy next time. Oh and also, we need to go to the mall cuz we need to get some more pillows and blankets for their bedroom." Santiago says and stands up.

"Sounds good to me. What about you Britt?" Quinn asks as she searches for her purse.

"I'm okay with it, but I don't want you to buy us too much. I already feel bad for just dropping by here and staying in your guestroom for who knows how long…"

"Stop doing that Britt," Santiago says and I look up at him in confusion, "You are not a bother, okay? You are our friend and you can stay as long as you need to. And by the way, I'm gonna buy you two anything you want, that includes new clothes cuz I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you only have one bag full of clothes for the both of you."

I start to shake my head and quickly stand up next to him after moving Grace to sit on the couch.

"San… You can't do that…"I start but Santiago interrupts me.

"No. I can and _will _do that. You two need clothes and not those worn-down clothes with big holes that you have in that bag. I know it's hard to accept any form of help but I'm not taking no for an answer. You two deserve the best of the best and I'm gonna make sure you get that." He concludes and crosses his arms in front of him.

He sends me a look that clearly states that he isn't backing down no matter how much or how hard I fight against it so I just try to accept it.

I sigh and slowly nod my head at him, "Okay… Thank you. It really means a lot to me."

He just smiles at me and I look up into his big brown eyes. They are filled with care. I quickly swallow and fight the tears threatening to spill out of my eyes. He is so nice and generous… I have never had anyone truly caring about me before like that…

And I know he is being honest with me, not only from the words he said but I can see it as well in the way he held Grace and how he looks at us. He already cares so much about us and it makes my heart swell.

He hasn't even known us for 24hrs and he already wants to make sure we get the best there is. It's so surreal to me. I'm used to being treated like I'm nothing… I don't deserve him caring about me…

I snap out of my thoughts when I feel a hand cup my cheek and a thumb swipe away a tear that escaped my eye. I look up and see Santiago sending me a small but concerned smile.

He pulls me into a hug and I hold him tightly while I burry my face into his chest. I can't help but notice how nice and comfortable this feels. We fit perfectly together, maybe we were just made for each other…

_What? Stop it. Don't be such a weirdo_

I quickly shake my head at the thought and reluctantly break the hug. I wipe my face and turn around to see Grace sitting on the couch talking to Quinn who is helping her with her shoes.

"All done." Quinn says and stands up.

"We go shopping now?" Grace asks all cute-like.

We smile and laugh at her. I take her hand and walk after Santiago towards the door. He walks out first, followed by Quinn and then finally Grace and I.

Grace runs towards Santiago and pulls on his hand. He looks down and picks her up. They both start to talk about their favorite foods and colors. I smile at them as Quinn hooks her arm through mine and we walk down the stairs.

I take a deep breath before we walk out of the building and towards a black Jeep. Quinn unlocks it while Santiago moves to sit in the backseat with Grace, leaving the passenger seat open for me.

I smile at him after I get in the car and Quinn starts to drive. My smile grows when I hear San and Grace talking about… _Princesses_. I start to giggle after a couple min since San and Grace are in a heated discussion about which Princess is truly the most beautiful.

"But Cinderella is really nice." Grace pouts up at San.

"She is but I know a princess that's even nicer _and_ who is also way more beautiful than all the others." San says as Quinn parks the car in front of a big grocery store and we both turn to look at the two in the backseat.

"Who?" Grace asks with big curious eyes.

"You." San says with a big smile and chuckles at Grace's shocked face.

"But I'm not a princess." She frowns.

"You are. A very pretty one. And I think this princess needs a few dresses. Do you agree?" San says and we all laugh when Grace nods her head quickly with a big smile spreading across her face.

Grace starts to list off all the kinds of things she wants on her dresses, including the colors… well mostly the colors Pink and Purple are being named but it's so sweet and fun to watch her discuss all of this with him.

We walk into the store and grab a cart. We make our way through the aisles with Grace on Santiago's hip, she is pointing to all the things she likes and San grabs her a bag of almost everything in the candy aisle.

I just shake my head at him, I tried to tell him not to buy so much for us on multiple occasions but he just gave me a look and kindly shooed me towards Quinn.

**A couple hours later**

We are back at the apartment again, I'm helping Quinn with putting the groceries away while San is in the guestroom with Gracie. They are putting all the clothes he bought us into the two closets.

I still can't believe he bought us all that stuff… I wonder what he does for a living cuz seriously, he spend a ridiculous amount of money on us. I'm sure of that. But we did have a lot of fun though…

After buying almost the whole store we made our way towards the mall. _Wow…_ That's all I can say about it. I have never been in such a big mall before. I mean the mall in NY was pretty big too but I wasn't allowed to go there nor could I afford anything from there…

I frown at the memories and quickly shake my head to get rid of it. I don't wanna think about this tonight…

So after grocery shopping we went into some clothing shops and I had a blast. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun on a shopping trip. Quinn and I did a little fashion show every time we had tried on a new outfit. Even Gracie participated.

The best part was when Grace pulled Santiago with her through the store to get him clothes as well. Luckily for him, she picked out men's clothes. It would've been really funny to have seen him in some women's clothing though…

I giggle at the imagine that pops up in my head. Quinn sends me a weird look but it quickly turns into a smile. We both get back to our jobs while I trail back to today's happenings again.

At one point San and Grace disappeared, I asked Quinn if she knew where they were cuz my heart was racing very fast. I almost had a panic attack in the middle of the store. Luckily Quinn calmed me down and told me that San took her to a shop next door.

When we walked outside I couldn't help but laugh at the sight outside of the store. Sitting on the bench was Gracie, she was happily playing with a Barbie doll. Next to her stood Santiago, bags filled with toys and stuffed animals all around him. He just shrugged and sent us this huge smile. _Damn that smile…_

We decided to go home a couple minutes later, I don't even know how many bags we had but it was ridiculous. I believe San had at least 10 bags in his hands and arms. Luckily he is a very strong and big guy. _Those muscles are just…_

The clearing of a throat pulls me away from my thoughts about San's amazing and very toned body. I shake my head quickly and see Quinn smirking at me.

"What?" I ask her and it comes out as a high pitch. I can feel my cheeks start to redden a little.

"Nothing. Just wanted to know what kinda pizza you want to have." she says still smirking at me.

"Oh.. uh…" I stutter out a little and shake my head again. _What is happening to me? Just act normal_

"If you start to blush even more than you already are, I can tell them to leave out the tomato sauce and just use the reddening of your cheeks." Quinn jokes and I glare at her before hiding my face.

_Is it hot here or is that just me?_ I hope Quinn doesn't notice anything… but she probably already knows something. I shake my head again and look at her before answering.

"I would like Pepperoni and maybe a kid's Cheese pizza for Grace." I tell her and she nods her head.

She is still smirking at me but there is something else in her eyes. I don't know what and before I can ask her, she turns around and starts to dial the Pizzeria's number.

I stare for a few seconds at her back before walking towards the living room and dropping down on the couch. I close my eyes and a couple minutes later I feel a body climbing on my lap. I wrap my arms around my little girl and keep my eyes closed.

The couch dips lower next to me and I open my eyes to see who sat down. Santiago just smiles at me and turns back towards the TV that he must of just turned on.

We continue to watch TV for the rest of the night as we eat our pizza's. We comment on the shows we watch and just talk about random things. Somehow along the way I ended up cuddling into Santiago's side with Grace in between us on both of our laps.

We say goodnight about an hour later.

I smile as I lay in bed with Gracie snuggled into my side. This was one of the most relaxed nights I have had in years. I feel really blessed to not only have one but two friends that really and truly care about me and my daughter.

I kiss Grace's head and close my eyes. I sigh happily and send a couple grateful thanks up to whoever is up there looking out for me right now.

_Maybe things will change for the better_ is the last thought that crosses my mind before I drift off to dreamland with a small smile on my face.

**A/N2 I lost part of the last paragraphs… so the ending part is slightly different to what I first had. If you want to see anything happen or have any questions, let me know and I will see what I can do **

**Hope you enjoyed it and please review :)**


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